Telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) (hTERT)

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme complex, which maintains chromosomal stability by adding telomeric repeats (TTAGGG) to the ends of chromosomes (UniProt O14746; NCBI Gene 7015). While hTERT expression is silenced in most adult somatic cells, it is reactivated in approximately 85-90% of human cancers, enabling the unlimited replicative potential characteristic of malignancy (Shay, J. W., 2016, Seminars in Cancer Biology). This near-universal expression in tumors compared to limited expression in normal tissues makes hTERT a primary target for anti-cancer therapies. Therapeutic interventions include telomerase inhibitors like imetelstat, which binds to the hTR RNA template to block catalytic activity, and various immunotherapies designed to recognize hTERT-derived peptides presented on the surface of cancer cells (Baerlocher et al., 2015, NEJM; Mizukoshi & Kaneko,}

Other names

TERThEST2TCS1TP2TRThTRTEST2Telomerase catalytic subunit

Direct inhibition of telomerase catalytic activity via competitive binding to the RNA template or induction of hTERT-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses through vaccination (Baerlocher et al., 2015, NEJM; Mizukoshi & Kaneko, 2019, Int J Mol Sci).